Shift Ninjas?

[Moosey]

So I and my girlfriend, with whom I am very much in love, are both attempting to pick up EMT-B certs. over the summer. The idea would then be to have both of us work part-time as EMTs and be students over the following semesters to help pay tuition or for an apartment or some such. Either of the places we would wind up working (depending on a transfer app succeeding or not) would be fairly busy areas--the Portland OR area, or Stony Brook NY (SBVAC if possible, SBU Hospital if not). Ideally, we would wind up working on the same crew, eliminating the eating up of personal time that work would involve (since work time and personal time would be mixed).

In all honesty, how likely would it be that we would wind up being able to schedule being on the same shift and/or crew? How hard would it be to arrange shifts that way in a fairly large system or company? Would others mind sharing their experiences with attempting to move shifts around with EMT systems, especially to be with a sig. other?

Thanks to all below; your input is much appreciated.

Also... and I'm not trying to be rude, I'm trying to be practical--does anyone care to take a stab at average base pay for an EMT-B working part-time? If not, or if people think it's rude to ask, I apologize, but economics is an important science when it comes to tuition... Thanks in advance for your input.

[akroeze]

Do they even allow personal partners to be professional partners? I could just see that it might be a problem. Same shift and base and all that but maybe not same crew?

[Alcomedicism]

I could probably see same shift, but probably diff bases and crew as well. Most comapnies would want it that way so that no one can say he/she is playing favorites. And also it prevents problems between the couple at work which can escalate and affect the job. Its just better not be with family while at work, there is too many things that could destroy the relationship on a personal and professional level.

-Dix

[akroeze]

That and there is such a thing as TOO much time together as well.

[KSEMT122]

I think it is highly unlikely and unprofessional for a couple to work on the same shift let alone as partners. I haven't heard of a place that would allow a couple being partners, although I"m sure in bigger services it happens. I"m in a situation where my partner is married to a Capt. at the same service, and that causes enough problems as is with favorites. So I"m under the opinion that a couple should not even be allowed to work at the same service if one is in a position of power. Just my thoughts since I"m on the receiving end of Schmoopie and Schmoopie Doo at work.

Dan

[Richard]

you wake up.... there she is

you drive to work.... there she is

work all day....there she is

you go home.....there she is

where does it end?

familiarity breeds contempt, especially when you have to go to the nudie bar just for a change of scenery

[Alcomedicism]

If one person in the marriage is in a leadership role at the service then they need to work at different services as the whole favorites game comes into play. If they do work at the same service, you'll notice that their private lives and their professional work often collide, and it is never a good thng. This can be very serious on-scene when emotions may begin to run high and pt. care is compromised. That is why the military doesnt favor the marriage of two soldiers of different rankings. They dont want to risk that for fellow soldiers out in the line of duty. (sorry to go on a wild tangent, but trying to give an axample)

But the couple are of equal ranking within the service then they should be on a different truck and at different stations. The only time they would work together is during a massive MCI, which are few and far between.

Working with your spouse at first may seem fun ,but then when you get home, you dont get to have that "How was your day at work?" conversation anymore. After about 3 weeks of nonstop seperation, you are going to start finding little annoyances that will get under your skin. Plus arguments that happened at home will continue at work. Not a good work atmosphere for anybody. If things get bad enough, the lead guy usually has to end up firing BOTH spouses. Then both of you are out of a job.

Just try working at seperate services to begin with. If you both really think you can handle working at the same service at least consider being in different bases and possibly diferent shifts. But ask yourselves a serious question:

Would you become jealous of your partner if he/she received a promotion and you didnt??

It happens and partnerships end on a bad note if this is not discussed early on.

-Dix

[Moosey]

We're not discussing two married individuals--we're not even discussing two people living in the same apartment. We're discussing two college students--undergrads, even--taking (separate) classes and working EMS part-time. So I don't think the too-much-of-each-other issue would be a problem. I suppose this would make it HIGHLY unlikely to be able to get identical crews though. And you guys are right, it would completely invalidate the "so how was YOUR day, dear?" conversation.

I guess it would be kind of unprofessional, on thinking about it more, though the two of us are perfectly capable of being sweet in our down time and serious when it comes to working together. We are both highly motivated towards EMS, and both realize that it takes priority over our love life, particularly in a work environment.

I thank you all for your replies and your insight.

[THE_DITCH_DOCTOR]

I used to work a service where every crew was a married couple, except mine (I mean I liked Wes, he was a good guy and all and everything....but he's just not my type ). There were no problems because of this, and I don't see a problem with it.

My current volunteer station has a husband and wife pair and two boyfriend/girlfriend pairs running on the various apparatus (both fire and EMS). You seldom see any of these people without their respective mate, and I have not had any problems with this (I'm one of the lieutenants so I would be the first one to find out about problems). Now if trouble arose from this arrangement, I would not hesitate for a second to require separating the particular pairing in question, but I don't make across the board rules like "no husband and wife teams" because I have seen it work, and be quite successful.

[tunnelrat83]

Personally i think it is situational... as long as they play nice... go for it